ADVANCEing FieldSafety: Changing the Culture of Fieldwork from Coursera

The ADVANCEing FieldSafety course provides field research team leaders and field team participants with the skills and tools to build a welcoming and inclusive field culture. This course will help you and your team develop norms and codes of conduct, and review or clarify leadership and field team organization. Additionally, you and your team will learn how to identify unsafe and harmful behaviors, respond appropriately to dissipate and mitigate these behaviors, and support those impacted by the behaviors. Finally, the course will provide tools to create, build and support inclusive mentorship, consider additional factors for mitigating risk to diverse individuals in the field, and how to build cultural inclusivity within your team.

ADVANCEing FieldSafety provides tools to address a growing awareness of the challenges of working (far) away from support networks and resources traditionally found at home. A deliberate approach to managing behaviors and hazards in the field can keep every individual safe and the team performing. ADVANCEing FieldSafety is designed for every member of research teams operating in field environments, from seasoned academics, technical support staff to undergraduates.

What's inside

Syllabus

Course Introduction and Creating a Safe Field Environment

During Week 1, we will discuss the course introduction and the content from Modules 1 and 2. The course introduction will discuss the outline and format of the course. We will also introduce our course instructors. Module 1 covers evaluating and preparing for hazards in field environments. Module 2 covers the fundamentals of communication tools, such as leadership roles, decision-making styles, and briefing/debriefing techniques.

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Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Supports researchers with field experience

Promotes inclusive and safe environments for impactful fieldwork

Builds leadership skills essential for managing field teams

Designed for diverse research teams, including undergraduates and technical support staff

Covers inclusive mentoring and cultural inclusivity

Provides tools to address challenges in field research

Reviews summary

Essential field safety and inclusion

According to students, ADVANCEing FieldSafety is a highly relevant and timely course for anyone involved in fieldwork, particularly research team leaders and participants. Learners praise its focus on fostering a welcoming and inclusive field culture, offering concrete tools and strategies for addressing challenges. Many found the modules on communication tools, codes of conduct, and responding to unsafe behaviors particularly insightful and applicable. The course is noted for its ability to provide practical advice on inclusive mentorship and its emphasis on keeping diverse field teams safe. While largely seen as providing essential foundational knowledge, some suggest it could explore certain topics, like legal frameworks or specific case studies, in greater depth for those with prior experience. Overall, it is considered well-organized and crucial for enhancing safety and inclusivity in field environments.

Applicable not just to fieldwork, but broader team environments.

"While it's geared towards fieldwork, many principles are applicable to other team environments."

The material is presented clearly, making complex topics easy to grasp.

"The instructors were knowledgeable and presented the material clearly."

"Very well organized and easy to follow."

"I appreciated the practical scenarios and how they addressed real-world challenges effectively."

Provides actionable strategies and concrete tools for immediate application.

"The course provided concrete tools and strategies that I can immediately apply."

"As a new field team leader, this course was a godsend. It prepared me for managing team dynamics and ensuring everyone feels safe and respected."

"I found the course quite valuable, especially the modules on identifying and responding to unsafe behaviors. It highlighted the importance of proactive measures."

"The practical advice on inclusive mentorship was particularly helpful for me."

Addresses critical and often overlooked aspects of fieldwork safety and culture.

"This course is incredibly important for anyone involved in fieldwork. The modules on communication tools and creating safe team culture were particularly insightful."

"A very timely and relevant course. It really made me think about how to foster a more inclusive environment in our field expeditions."

"Excellent content! The focus on diverse field teams and cultural inclusivity is essential and often overlooked."

"This is a much-needed course in academia! It provided practical frameworks for creating a safe and inclusive environment."

Offers a solid starting point, though some areas could benefit from more advanced detail.

"My only minor critique is that some parts felt a bit introductory if you already have some HR experience."

"The topics covered are crucial, but I felt some areas could have been explored in more depth. Specifically, I was hoping for more detailed case studies..."

"Still, it's a good starting point for cultural change."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in ADVANCEing FieldSafety: Changing the Culture of Fieldwork with these activities:

Review the principles of communication and group dynamics

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Strengthen your foundational knowledge of communication and group dynamics to enhance your effectiveness in the field.

Browse courses on Communication

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Review your previous coursework or textbooks on communication and group dynamics.
Read articles or attend workshops to refresh your understanding.
Reflect on your own experiences and identify areas for improvement.

Create a personalized study guide

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Enhance your understanding and retention of course content by creating a customized study guide.

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Review the syllabus and identify key concepts.
Summarize and organize your notes from lectures and readings.
Highlight important points and make connections between concepts.
Use different colors, fonts, and diagrams to make your study guide visually appealing.

Complete practice problems on leadership and decision-making

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Strengthen your understanding of key concepts related to leadership and decision-making in the field.

Browse courses on Leadership

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Review the course materials on leadership and decision-making.
Work through a series of practice problems designed to test your understanding of these concepts.
Discuss your solutions with peers or the instructor to gain feedback and clarify any misunderstandings.

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Participate in role-playing scenarios to practice responding to unsafe behaviors

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Enhance your ability to effectively address and de-escalate unsafe behaviors in the field.

Browse courses on Conflict Resolution

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Identify common unsafe behaviors and their potential consequences.
Develop strategies for responding to these behaviors in a safe and respectful manner.
Practice role-playing scenarios with peers to simulate real-world situations.
Reflect on your experiences and identify areas for improvement.

Develop a field safety plan

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Apply your knowledge of field safety best practices by creating a comprehensive safety plan tailored to your research project.

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Identify potential hazards and risks associated with your field research.
Develop protocols for mitigating these hazards and risks.
Create a communication plan for emergencies.
Review and refine your plan with your team.

Attend field safety workshops and conferences

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Expand your knowledge and connect with professionals in the field of field safety.

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Research and identify upcoming field safety workshops and conferences.
Register and attend the events.
Participate in sessions and engage with speakers and attendees.
Exchange ideas, learn about best practices, and build your professional network.

Contribute to the development of an open-source field safety toolkit

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Gain practical experience and contribute to the field of field safety by collaborating on an open-source project.

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Identify an area within field safety that you are passionate about.
Research existing open-source projects related to field safety.
Join a project and start contributing your skills and knowledge.
Share your learnings and experiences with the community.

Develop a training module on field safety

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Deepen your understanding of field safety and share your knowledge by creating a training module for others.

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Identify the target audience and learning objectives for your training module.
Research and gather information on field safety best practices.
Design and develop your training module using appropriate methods and materials.
Pilot test your training module and gather feedback.
Refine and finalize your training module for dissemination.

Career center

Learners who complete ADVANCEing FieldSafety: Changing the Culture of Fieldwork will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

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ADVANCEing FieldSafety

Changing the Culture of Fieldwork

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What's inside

Syllabus

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Reviews summary

Essential field safety and inclusion

Activities

Career center

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